Designing Curriculum and Instruction I – D186 – Task 3

N Armstrong
Western Governors University
A. Lesson analysis
1.
Subject: Science
Grade: 3
Objective: Be able to categorize the different animals into groups observing the different traits
between animals, e.g. mammals, reptiles, etc.
2. Every year, the students will draw different animals for each group and make sure they have
the specific traits discussed in class. For example, animals that have scales are either reptiles,
amphibians, or fish. Animals with wings will be classified as birds. They will then label the
different traits expressed in their drawings. A few studies suggest that the quality of these
drawings, similarly to summarizing, is directly related to how much the student learns or retains
of the lesson (National Academy of Sciences 2018).
3. Using the same research by the National Academy of Sciences, those same studies suggest
deeper learning is enhanced when the student-made drawings are compared to author drawings
(Van Meter et al. 2006). When students compare their own drawings, they can reinforce what
they already know or even find gaps that they are missing in their information. For example, a
student is drawing a amphibian, but draws hair or fur on its skin. That student can compare the
picture and see a visual representation of what gaps they have in their understanding of what an
amphibian is. Learning what are scales is often a newer vocabulary word not all students have
been previously exposed to. Normally, this is one of the words that students have a harder time
grasping without reinforcement. Visual representation is a good guide for them to better connect
what scales look like and the word to develop describing animals. What traits does an amphibian
have? How is it different from reptiles or other animal groupings? These questions help with
better retention of the content. The integration of these questions will be used in the drawing
assessments. The drawing activities will have a list of questions about each animal group that
they must answer before drawing. That way they can answer questions based on previous
knowledge, then reinforce their answers through drawing. That way they have the visual
representation to each word through their own drawings.
4. With most classes, mixed-ability groupings are great for peer teaching. During end of unit
reviews, group games are often used where students can work together to achieve a similar goal.
Having students work together to solve a problem or ask a question is a great way to get them to
collaborate (Briggs 2013). Obviously, some students will be more knowledgeable of the content
than others, which leads to some students taking a leadership role to help their team win. The
stronger students can be reinforced for the things they already know and go deeper by sharing
their own independent research while struggling students can get tips from stronger students. The
struggling student can even build confidence if they are able to help their team and use the
knowledge obtained in class. I have also used jigsaw activities where each group of students
learns about a different animal group. Each group answers a number of questions about their
animal group then students are asked to switch groups and teach members of other groups. For
example, there is a student named Michelle. Michelle is in the mammals group they are given a
picture of an animal and they must answer the questions about the traits of their animal and later
put them in the correct animal group. After gathering information as a group, she will fill out the
information about the other animals from other students in different groups. Each student must
give out their information to five other students so that way each student has a complete table of
all the animal groups covered in the class. This is a great way for students do some peer-teaching
and makes it more student-centered in the classroom.
B. Unit Analysis
1.
Subject: Math
Standards:
[Link].A.1
Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5
groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can
be expressed as 5 × 7.
[Link].D.9
Identify arithmetic patterns (including patterns in the addition table or multiplication table), and
explain them using properties of operations. For example, observe that 4 times a number is
always even, and explain why 4 times a number can be decomposed into two equal addends.
Grade: 3
Objective: Be able to multiply up to 12.
2. For retrieval practice strategies, I have used “exit tickets” for many different units and
subjects. At the end of class, they have to answer 5-10 simple multiplication problems learned
that day, and they are good to go. If a student even has one wrong answer, they are asked to re-do
the “exit ticket” until they get them all correct. I do not do this for all units, but this unit the
students are drilled their multiplication tables until it is second nature to them. This has been
shown to be more beneficial for retention than just simply restudying (Chiekrie 2023). Students
will be pushed to pull the information independently without input from the teacher. Sometimes,
when students are struggling, I allow some peer teaching after 2 unsuccessful attempts.
3. To integrate spacing practice to improve retention in the unit, students will have about 4-6
weeks of practice and learning of this unit. Every day we will go over a new number to multiply
and have exit tickets at the end of the class for retrieval practice. At the end of each week, we
will have a mini-quiz of all the numbers we learned for multiplication during the week. Each
week usually focuses on 3 numbers (1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12) while the later weeks might break them
up do to the difficulty students may have with larger numbers. This schedule allows for constant
practice of the skills needed to successfully achieve the objectives of the unit. Each week will
have practice for the content learned for that week and all previous weeks. For example, at the
end of week 3, they will have a mini-quiz for all the numbers learned from week 1-3 of the unit.
This spaced repetition over several weeks is correlated to greater long-term retention (National
Academy of Sciences 2018).
4. Varying and interleaving skills has been shown to be a better way to promote learning and
retention than single skill learning or block learning (National Academy of Sciences 2018). Math
lends itself to maximum flexibility to using varying or interleaving practices teachers can utilize
in the classroom. Math is in everything, so teachers can get creative with their activities. Games
can be easily integrated into lessons. I sometimes have one-on-one quick math games, to group
activities where each student has to answer one question in a group. There are also numerous
tools online or applications that reinforce different math concepts. I have had games where
students touch the correct clouds that move around a smart board for answers to math questions.
This allows them to use their motor skills and exercise their math skills.
 References
Briggs, S. (2013, June 7). How peer teaching improves student learning and 10 ways to
encourage it. InformED. [Link]
teaching
Briggs, S. (2013, June 7). How peer teaching improves student learning and 10 ways to
encourage it. InformED. [Link]
teaching
Briggs, S. (2013, June 7). How peer teaching improves student learning and 10 ways to
encourage it. InformED. [Link]
Chiekrie, E. (2023). Using retrieval practice as a tool to improve attainment in KS5
Biology (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford).
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How People Learn
II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
[Link]
Van Meter, P., Aleksic, M., Schwartz, A., and Garner, J. (2006). Learner-generated
drawing as a strategy for learning from content area text. Contemporary Educational Psychology,
31(2), 142–166. doi:10.1016/[Link].2005.04.001